


Two sorcerers going at it

by boleyn13



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Developing Relationship, Gen, Humor, Loki and Stephen trying to out magic each other, Magic, Rivalry, Showing Off, thor ragnarok - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 04:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14729957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boleyn13/pseuds/boleyn13
Summary: Ready for an attack Stephen straightened his back, he wasn’t going to let this man see his astonishment. “You should be in Norway.”Loki shrugged. “I have no intention to talk to Odin. Family meetings aren’t my favourite way to pass the time. All the yelling and screaming and so many reproaches.”“Attempted murders?”“One or two.”Loki is capable of trapping Odin within a spell for two years, but can't get out of a little portal? Yeah, right.





	Two sorcerers going at it

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody, 
> 
> It's that time again - Loki and Doctor Strange. Why isn't there more of this?! :D

“All right, bye-bye.“ Stephen wasn’t going to put up with this even one second longer than necessary. This was the first time he had met Thor and the Asgardian had immediately proven to be high maintenance. First bringing Loki back on earth and then demolishing probably half of Stephen’s home. Mental note – stay far away from Asgardians. They meant nothing but trouble.

Well, Stephen had taken care of it for now. Both of them were off through the portal, in Norway, meeting up with Odin. At this moment Stephen had nothing else to do but cleaning up the mess that Thor had left behind and felt a little smug about the ridiculously flabbergasted look on Loki’s face. What a stupid move to pull his daggers on Stephen. For a sorcerer that man relied a lot on physical violence. Not very classy.

Sighing Stephen went up the stairs to check out the damage. Lots of broken glass and priceless mystical artefacts were scattered all over the floor. Next time they were going to meet up anywhere else but here.

Lazily Stephen created another portal that would make a nice shortcut to the garbage can. Being a sorcerer definitely had its advantages sometimes.

“My brother has an undeniable talent of causing havoc everywhere he goes and yet I am still considered the black sheep of the family.”

The abrupt way Stephen spun around was completely undignified, but he had no time to give that another thought. Not when Thor’s adopted brother was casually sitting in one of Stephen’s comfy chairs, with his legs crossed and a sly smile on his lips.

Immediately adjusting to the new situation Stephen went over the last few actions in his head. Loki had fallen through the first portal and then Stephen had instantly sent him and Thor through the next one. What had gone wrong? Loki shouldn’t be here. Stephen had seen him and Thor disappear. Also he had felt it.

Ready for an attack Stephen straightened his back, he wasn’t going to let this man see his astonishment. “You should be in Norway.”

Loki shrugged. “I have no intention to talk to Odin. Family meetings aren’t my favourite way to pass the time. All the yelling and screaming and so many reproaches.”

“Attempted murders?”

“One or two.” The grin split Loki’s face in half and Stephen’s mind was trying to come up with ways to get rid of him. Creating a room between the dimensions and locking him in there sounded quite seasonable. Then Stephen would have enough time to figure out how Loki could have fallen through the second portal and still be here. Teleportation without a portal? Highly unlikable.

“Your brother must have been thrilled to learn that you’re still alive.”

Still grinning Loki huffed. “To the bone. About the same emotion as when I died. What can I say… I am not excited to join the party, so instead I thought I could irritate you.”

“You’re already going a pretty good job.” Enough of the talk. Stephen was under no illusion, the man in front of him was a threat. Not only to him, but to everybody on this planet. “But I fear I have to cut this conversation short.” After creating a new portal Stephen gestured at it. “Step through or I will make you.”

Loki propped his head up on one hand, the other one holding one of the daggers that Stephen had seen before. “Oh, I’d like to see you try.”

Stephen hated arrogance when he wasn’t the one putting it on display. Letting his magic flow Stephen used an old trick, but with a bit more force this time. The golden strings of magic wrapped themselves around Loki before swallowing him up like he had done before. There. Gone.

With a dismissive wave Stephen made the portal disappear. That was Thor’s problem now. Turning around Stephen started picking up several things that Thor’s hammer had knocked over. There would be no more helping alien gods, that was for sure.

“Really? That was all? Can you do anything else than the portal trick?”

Fool him once – shame on you. Fool him twice – shame on him. Stephen abruptly turned around, golden magic already ready at his fingers. With absolute precision Stephen threw his rings, but as they tried to grab Loki the Asgardian dissolved into green light. An illusion? How? When Stephen had clearly felt…

“Oh my… that was embarrassing. Luckily nobody saw that. Your reputation would have been ruined.”

The voice was coming from the stairs and Stephen spotted him sitting on the railing, his feet dangling above the floor. Still smiling and instantly Stephen hated him so much more than he had ever hated any of his colleagues or rivals. Should he take this to the mirror dimension? For some reason Stephen hesitated. An illusionist. Alright, Stephen had dealt with other things before.

“Actually I enjoy a low profile.” Stephen started another attack, this time half-hearted, expecting another illusion. Stephen was right, Loki once more vanished in green light.

That Asgardian pain was making a fool out of him. By this point Stephen should have let all ambition and pride behind him, but who was he kidding. Now it was just as much about proofing his worth as keeping this place safe.

Only now Loki didn’t reappear and Stephen remained in battle position. What were the possibilities of Loki being in Norway and still casting illusions here? Or was Loki still in the sanctum sanctorum? Invisibility? Stephen hadn’t been aware of that, but it made sense. Not a big leap from shape shifting. “You’ve had your fun. It’s time to get serious.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

There he was again, sitting on a table, Indian style. This man was definitely only here to antagonize Steve and to get some morbid entertainment out of this. Stephen wouldn’t care as much if Loki hadn’t been able to escape the portal at least one time and Stephen had to know how he did it. Maybe it was time to start negotiating. Or to let Loki believe that he was negotiating.

“Let’s be civilised about this. Actually I don’t care much if you go to Norway or not. It’s my duty to protect the planet and you are a considerable threat to it.”

“Thank you.” Loki smiled and Stephen felt the cloak wanting to move towards him.

“So all I want is you getting off this planet and we’ll be alright. You wouldn’t be here anyway if Thor hadn’t dragged you here.”

Loki clicked his tongue in response. “Right, but maybe I did miss Midgard. It can turn out to be quite interesting.”

“Really? With all the other worlds you have at your disposal?” Stephen could try a bit of manipulation.

“That is also true. Maybe I just want to stay around a bit and watch Thor’s stupid face when he realises that he is on his own.” Loki actually rocking back and forth with excitement and Stephen wanted to roll his eyes, but something in Loki’s wording peeked his interest. Sure, Stephen had his responsibilities and duties, but he was also a man on his constant search for knowledge. “What do you mean when he realises that he is on his own? You are here, aren’t you?”

The grin got so big it was almost disfiguring. “What do you think?”

Stephen curled his fingers into a fist. He was being challenged and the worst thing about it was the he appreciated it. Life would be so boring otherwise. How was he supposed to advance further if there was nobody who could go toe to toe with him? Not that Loki was able to do that, but at least Stephen was intrigued. Concentrating on the energy signatures in the room Stephen was willing to bet his cloak that Loki was actually here. With him in this room.

“I think you never walked through the second portal and I want to know how you did that.”

Dramatically Loki threw his hands into the air. “Magic!”

“A little more precise, please. I directly threw it at you.”

“Now did you?” That jerk was clearly enjoying himself which was probably the only reason why he hadn’t disappeared yet.

“Yes, I did because you immediately showed hostility as you fell through the first portal.”

Loki chuckled. So full of glee. Like a little child and it made Stephen’s blood boil. He was being making fun of. “What’s so funny?”

Within a second the grin disappeared and Loki’s face was distorted by anger and frustration. He raised his voice as he had only minutes ago. “I’ve been falling for 30 minutes!” As soon as the words had left his mouth Loki started laughing all over. Almost falling off the table.

It happened rarely to Stephen. No never. Nonetheless Stephen felt completely dumbfounded at this very moment. What had just happened? Had Loki lost the last remaining pieces of his mind? The sweet satisfaction Stephen had felt when he had trapped Loki between the portals had evaporated. How could Loki be so disgustingly cheerful out of a sudden when there had only been pure frustration only moments earlier? Could it be possible that Stephen was being played? Or was Loki just putting on a show?

“I’m sorry, I got carried away.” Loki actually brushed some tears away, he had been laughing so hard. “It’s just… Seriously? I single-handedly made one of the most powerful beings in all the nine realms believe that he was a homeless person on Midgard. For over two years. So yes, of course I cannot find a way out of your little portal trap. I would be so completely lost and helpless. Anyway, better luck next time.” Loki actually winked as he jumped off the table.

“Oh and before I leave… a little goodbye present.” Loki made a small gesture with his hand and the entire room transformed into a wide, seemingly endless desert. Stephen felt the sun burning down on him and that was quite an impressive illusion. Not that he was going to admit that. “What about the child’s play?”

“I got out of yours. Now you get out of mine. Have fun.” Still smiling Loki did a little wave and then vanished. Stephen groaned. Alright, time to break the illusion. At the very least he was rid of Loki.

 ***

To put it mildly – Stephen was furious. He was feeling beyond humiliated. Two days. It had taken him two days to break out of the illusion and if Stephen was completely honest, he would have to admit that the illusion pretty much collapsed on its own. Nobody would learn about this, never.

Complete silence would be spread over this topic.

Except that Stephen had to know how Loki had done that. Some things never change, right? Still in school Stephen hadn’t been able to stand anyone doing something better than him and he wouldn’t stop until he had found out what they were doing different. There had always been that urge to surpass everybody and even then he wouldn’t be content.

So that Asgardian sorcerer created better illusions than Stephen. Fine, he could work with that. What he couldn’t stand was the fact that it had taken him two full days to break out of it. Why was nobody talking about that?

Well, Stephen was glad that nobody was talking about it, but why was Loki treated like a villain of the week when he could do… that. With an uneasy feeling Stephen admitted to himself that he had severely underestimated the other man. And Stephen himself was the only person he was going to admit that to.

Anyway, Stephen wouldn’t rest until he had figured out the art of creating such a vast and flexible illusion. Oh and maybe he would also try to get his hands on the dangerous magic user that was still on earth. Which was most probably Stephen’s fault.

There had to be certain priorities…

After a week of failed attempts Stephen has had enough and decided to go for desperate measures. There was no denying that he felt immense satisfaction when he it took him only a few moments of mediation and concentration to find Loki again.

What the hell was this guy doing in Brazil?

The situation got so much clearer as soon as Stephen stepped through the newly created portal. The terrace of a luxurious mansion on top of a hill. A marvellous, breath taking sight over the beach and a city made out of white houses. To his right there was an infinity pool, to his left several cosy lounge chairs and couches. Before his accident Stephen had been a filthy wealthy man, but this was something even he had been only able to dream of. It was the kind of ridiculous wealth that couldn’t be acquired in legal ways.

Looking around Stephen spotted several women who looked like they had jumped out of a HipHop music video or the Playboy magazine. Most of them had have had work done, but Stephen wasn’t here to give them advice on their cosmetic surgeons. Stephen was here for the middle aged man with only a shock of hair left who was comfortably lounging in a deckchair. A glass of a colourful drink in hand, one of the models was massaging his shoulders.

Stephen wanted to kill himself at the sight. Some people had just no shame.

“Really? That’s what you do in your spare time?”

Suddenly the girls’ attention was on them and a couple of them were actually screeching. Like needles driving into Stephen’s head. How could people actually be into that type of women?

Oh and there were guns pointed at Stephen. So definitely illegal business going on. Those goons looked like extras from a cheap B-movie.

The man in charge looked at Stephen with comically large eyes and started shouting in Portuguese and Stephen rolled his eyes. “Oh please, don’t embarrass yourself. I don’t have time for this. Will you cut it out? You’ve had your… fun.” Stephen grimaced at that word, glancing at the women in their bathing suits.

More Portuguese shouting and Stephen only raised one eyebrow in the most demeaning way.

Eventually the bald guy stopped talking and sighed dramatically. “Alright, I was starting to get bored anyway.”

The glamour slipped off him in a beautiful shine of green, golden light. Stephen couldn’t help but admire the finesse in it. There was no way in hell he was going to show it.

Loki was wearing a big grin on his face and now the girls were definitely screaming since the guy they had been gathering around had just turned into a completely different person. Definitely more attractive though.

Now all the guns were instantly on him and the girls moved away from him. There was Portuguese yelling, the goons probably wanted to know what had happened to their boss. Loki couldn’t be bothered, he was folding his hands behind his head, looking perfectly smug. “Finally made your way out of the desert?”

Alright, should the goons just shoot him…

The yelling got louder and some of the guys were stepping close, so Loki did a little wave with his hand and all the guns turned into sizzling snakes. All of the goons dropped them in shock and they were probably weren’t paid very well, since they fled immediately. One of the sparely clad women brushed Stephen’s cloak as she stumbled past him in her high heels.

After looking after her Stephen turned back to Loki, his face putting his disgust on display. “This is low. Even for you.”

Loki cocked an eyebrow and seemingly only realised after another second what Stephen was referring to. “Oh, them? I fear I must disappoint your expectations. Not really my type.”

That guy actually had the guts to wink at Stephen.

“Lovely… really.”

Slowly getting up from his chair Loki stretched. “So have you come here to bring me to justice? Tell me to leave the planet? Sorry, but I must disappoint you. I am enjoying my time here. Midgardians are so easy to fool.”

“Will you please stop talking?” Annoyed Stephen crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I am not going to tell you to leave. Not until you explain to me how you created the illusion of the desert.”

Yes, Stephen tried to sound like he didn’t care too much, but Loki wasn’t going to buy it anyway. The god gasped in fake astonishment. “I must have misheard. Could there be something that the Sorcerer Supreme does not already know?”

“Look, I am being gracious here. You tell me what I want to know and I am not going to instantly take you in and hand you over to your brother. I will let you roam around earth a little longer. Under surveillance of course.”

Grinning sharply Loki hummed. “You will let me. Well, thank you for your graciousness.”

“So?”

“You know, I was starting to get bored of Brazil anyway. See you around.” Loki did actually a little wink and Stephen wasn’t going to have that. Did that Asgardian maniac really believe that he had come here unprepared? That was definitely insulting.

Still working as a surgeon Stephen had been immensely proud of his timing and he hadn’t lost that gift. Stephen threw the golden ring he had formed out of magic and it wrapped itself around Loki’s wrists the very second the god teleported away. He even thought that he could see Loki’s dumbfounded expression.

Okay, that wasn’t as good as figuring out how he did his illusions, but Stephen still felt smug and content with himself. It would be interesting to see how much time Loki would need to get out of his special little cuffs. Well, at least they were golden and Loki seemed to have a taste for the finer things in life. Taking another look around Stephen grimaced in disgust before opening a portal for him to get back home.

 ***

Stephen got a proper night of sleep and was busy eating a decent breakfast when the window next to him shattered into a thousand pieces. What was that? 16 hours? Still quite impressive. Not even putting down his cup of coffee Stephen raised an eyebrow at Loki who was staring at him with wide, angry eyes. He looked like he was seconds away from screaming bloody murder. “Well, what gives me the honour of your visit?”

Raising both of his hands Loki showed the red marks around his wrist and it took all of Stephen’s willpower to not smirk or to pat himself on the shoulder. Good job. “How did you do that?”

Voice trembling with rage, the guy was barely having a hold on himself. Really pathetic and yet intriguing.

“You know, the usual. Just a little magic. Not my usual portal trick though.”

Loki was gritting his teeth and then suddenly his whole demeanour changed as if somebody had pushed a button. His posture became less tensed and the murderous expression on his face was replaced by a charming and a little too sweet smile. Stephen was chewing on his slice of toast as Loki pulled up another chair and sat down next to him. “Maybe we’ve started this conversation all wrong.”

“We?”

“Alright. Sorry about your window.” With a dismissive wave of his Loki made all the shards on the floor levitate and put themselves back together.

“Neat trick. Just an illusion or did you actual repair what you messed up?”

“Don’t be so ungrateful.” Loki leaned back and crossed his legs. “I guess you are going to propose me an exchange. My illusion against your little ring trick.”

Stephen was hoping desperately that he was pulling this indifferent look off. “Do you really think of your magic as that impressive?”

“Well, it took you two days to get out of it…” Loki clicked his tongue and then offered him a dirty smirk. Stephen had been here before. Meeting an incredibly capable person who was so disgustingly but still somewhat justifiably arrogant had always had strange effects on Stephen. On the one hand he felt the very specific urge to smash his hand into Loki’s face and at the same time he had a hard time denying that he liked the cockiness. Liking something that drove him up the walls.

“I am sure you spent a most pleasant night trying to get out off the shackles.” Stephen pointed out and Loki hummed. “Don’t think too highly of yourself. I did get out. Didn’t I?”

“I got out of your illusion. So maybe there is no exchange to be had.”

Loki didn’t seem to be bothered, instead there was this knowing smile on his lips and Stephen didn’t like it one bit. Except that he did. “Right… so if there is no exchange to be had… why am I still allowed to roam freely across Midgard while you are enjoying your breakfast? Shouldn’t you be… I don’t know… trying to send me back to Asgard?”

“Shouldn’t you be trying to kill me?”

The sound which Loki made could be considered offended. “This seems to be a general misconception about me. I am not exactly a very murderous person. I have my moments, but those are rather the exception than the rule.”

Stephen had the feeling that this wasn’t going to end up causing him a lot of trouble, sitting here with Loki had something fascinating about it. Also, he hadn’t tried to take over the world yet and what did Stephen care if Loki impersonated some crime lord for a week? He hardly doubted that Loki had done actual shady business, so it was a good thing even.

“What kind of person are you then if not a murderous one?”

While offering Stephen his sweet smile Loki explained graciously. “I ruin reputations… and I am a thief.”

To prove his point Loki pulled one of Stephen’s books right out of nowhere and put it down on the table. “I was a good read. I thought you could have it back.”

No, Stephen wasn’t going to give the satisfaction. “About time, I was waiting for you to give it back.”

Knowingly Loki snorted. “You didn’t even notice it was gone.”

“Yes, I did. I just am not willing to lose time over such minor details.”

“A book that contains secrets about how to twist the strings of reality to your will is a minor detail? Your knowledge must be limitless if you are already that arrogant.” Loki was showing off his grin and Stephen was starting to become seriously annoyed. Fine, if Loki wanted to be a little bitch, Stephen could do the same and so much worse.

“Sorcerer Supreme, you know? It’s in the name.”

Loki raised one perfect and even more condescending eyebrow. “Supreme. Adorable. If you work really hard maybe someday you can become the apprentice of a god.”

“God of what? Mischief? Were all the actual divine powers already gone? Like fire, water, earthquakes, lightning and thunder? All you got is ringing on a doorbell and then quickly running away. Sorry that I’m not too impressed.” Although Stephen wasn’t hungry anymore he reached for another slice of bread and started to spread honey on it. It made him look so much more casual and dismissive if he was eating while having this conversation.

To his credit Loki did a good job at not showing how pissed off he had to be right now, but his right eyebrow twitched the tiniest bit. Not so condescending anymore.

“You’re right, I can’t offer you water or earthquakes. Lightning and thunder is just a fancy way of showing off. Fire though…” Loki held up his hand and felt more than just a tingle of intrigue and awe as actual green flames were dancing around his fingers. “I can provide. Because it’s chaotic. Just like me. Once it gets out of hand, impossible to contain.”

The five different flames travelled down into the palm of Loki’s hand, forming a single big one. It was burning wildly. A rather beautiful sight. Stephen couldn’t help but feel impressed by this gorgeous and fine display of magic. If they could ignore the fact that they were on different sides and Loki’s crazy eyes for a second they might have actually a lot of stuff to talk about.

Stephen hadn’t even finished that thought when Loki carelessly tossed the ball of fire over his shoulder. “Oops.”

Yes, now was time to smash his fist into Loki’s face.

“Now that’s a shame. I fear I have to go now. See you around.” Loki winked one more time before vanishing and Stephen sighed. The green fire was spreading, approaching one of the shelves and Stephen wished he could go one day without somebody ruining his property. By quickly opening a portal Stephen sent the fire right into the Atlantic Ocean.

Now Stephen had to check on the books.

 ***

The alarm went off in the middle of the night and couldn’t be bothered to put on actual clothes, because he felt like his sweatpants and t-shirt were going to rub Loki the wrong way. Stepping into his library Stephen had a difficult time not to laugh.

Loki was trapped in a gold cage made of energy right in front of the book shelves. The god had his arms crossed in front of his chest and he was scowling. “Cheap traps? Seriously?”

“It worked. Didn’t it? The cage quite suits you.”

“You realise that I will be out of here in less than five minutes?”

“Fine. I’ll keep an eye on the clock.” Before sitting down Stephen grabbed a book and started reading while Loki was trying to get out of his cage. Five minutes passed quickly and Stephen waited another ten before letting Loki know that he was doing terribly. “After all, still shockingly easy to lock you up.”

Loki shot him a deadly glare and continued to press his green glowing hands against the golden energy. Have fun doing that.

“You know what? I am going to call Thor to pick you up.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Sure, I would.”

Stephen continued to read and every now and then watched Loki’s fruitless attempts which were actually hilarious. After an hour it was started to become rather sad. “I could help you out of there if you were willing to share a few details on illusions with me.”

“I’d rather die than to teach a mortal!”

“Fine with me.” Shrugging Stephen turned his attention back to his book and Loki snarled. Another hour passed until Stephen was gracious enough to offer Loki another chance. “It’s been two and a half hours. It’s getting rather embarrassing.”

Putting his hands on his hips Loki nodded. “I agree. You are severely embarrassing yourself, because you still haven’t noticed.”

“What?”

Stephen had barely enough time to see the grin on Loki’s face before the god disappeared in green light. Not just him, also the entire cage. To make up for it Loki reappeared on the chair opposite of Stephen, his feet propped up on the table, a book in his hands.

That certainly caused a confusing mix of emotions. Stephen felt angry and excited at the same time. Another illusion and he had fallen for it. Not really embarrassing though since Loki had done a pretty good job on this. “How long have you been sitting here?”

“Two and a half hours.” Loki muttered casually, flipping a page.

“Yeah, bullshit. How long have you been sitting here?” Stephen repeated his question, because there was no way Loki had got out of his cage immediately. It hadn’t been perfect, but Stephen had created it himself. Loki had been definitely stuck in there for a while.

Not answering Loki shrugged, still wrapped up in his book.

“If you are able to admit how long you’ve been stuck in there, I might be willing to admit that the trick you just pulled was… rather impressive.” Well, that was a hard one to get out, but it captured Loki’s attention.

Slowly Loki put down the book and then crossed his arms defensively. “Alright… I may have been reading for… 10 minutes. The energy fabric was rather thick and woven with care, it took some effort to break it apart.”

Humming in content Stephen noticed in semi-shocked that he felt proud hearing another sorcerer complimenting his work. Normally nobody’s feedback made him feel anything. The only opinion Stephen was interested in was his own. Well, Loki knew what he was talking about, so there was that.

“It may also have been a rather impressive illusion.”

What followed was a surprisingly comfortable silence. How quickly was one of them going to ruin it?

“Your library is quite impressive. For a mortal.”

In Loki’s mind that was a great compliment, so Stephen wasn’t going to be a jerk about it. “Thank you. The section on telepathy is rather lacking though.”

Loki nodded in agreement and Stephen was only waiting for the smack-down. “I know a library on Álfheimr which possesses an impressive number of volumes dedicated to this field. If you’re not going to try to cuff me or lock me up again, I might actually take you there.”

That was a surprise, but Stephen very eager to improve his library. Also his knowledge on telepathy was shockingly limited. When it could come in very handy when dealing with Loki. Did travelling to another realm with him to check out a library really sound appealing?

Actually, it did.

“Are you planning on stealing invaluable books and using me as your accomplice?”

Smiling wickedly Loki gave him another shrug. “I’ll decide when we get there. You’re interested?”

It definitely sounded like the most exciting thing in a very long time. “Sure, but I’m starving. Can we have dinner first? You know a good restaurant on Álfheimr?”

A bit confused Loki shook his head. “No, they only eat green and yellow leafs. Not even seasoning them.”

“What a shame. I happen to know a great steakhouse down the road. I guess you are not a vegetarian. How does that sound?”

Loki smirked. “Like a date. Let’s go.”


End file.
